The Slice: Good to be back – now where was I?

It’s probably a sign that you had a good vacation when you realize you’ve forgotten the computer password you use at work.

Let’s move on.

Just wondering: Has the sound of crickets after dark been more pronounced than usual this summer?

Old business: One of last month’s Slice reruns reminded Odessa’s Laura Estes of something she meant to submit to this column years ago.

Apparently I had asked why some people walk in the street even when there is a sidewalk available. And Estes had intended to note that, where she lives, rattlesnakes have been known to lurk at the base of picket fences. So she walks in the roadway.

“Snakes don’t like to be caught out in the open so the street is pretty safe and traffic isn’t too much of a problem in Odessa,” she wrote.

When you see everything through a Spokane prism: It can distort your view.

Whenever my sister-in-law comes for a visit, she brings me a few newspapers from Michigan.

The most recent batch featured several stories in which Detroit mayor Dave Bing figured prominently. And even though I know he is the Motor City’s mayor and have been familiar with him since he was a basketball star ages ago, I still can’t help but see “Bing” in a headline and, for a millisecond, think of a certain Spokane-bred crooner.

“Bing to Slash Transit Budget.”

Ba-ba-ba-boo.

Maps don’t lie: You can spend the day sailing on Pend Oreille and still cover only a small fraction of the lake.

Warm-up question: What’s the proper fate for a vacation beard?

Today’s Slice question: It’s gratifying when visitors love Spokane. But at some point, do you feel the need to provide a bit of reality-check perspective?